Sudjarwo
Professor at Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, University of Lampung
THE outbreak of the COVID-19 virus or better known as coronavirus in Indonesia shook life. All lines of social life are affected, including education. COVID-19, at the time of writing, has infected 186 countries in the world and now may have increased. Those who are victims of this virus continue to increase. People can get infected regardless of age, rank, position, whatever and whoever we are.
This virus also forces social life to change, including learning methods. During this time, educators have struggled with conventional learning methods such as face-to-face Learning in the classroom between teacher and student or lecturer with students. The learning process, discussion, questions and answers, and guidance all take place face-to-face. Now, they have to dig themselves into an online learning method.
The leap does not mean anything to the world of higher education, especially for young teachers. They are indeed a generation that grew up in the digital or network era. Meanwhile, their seniors, who are elderly, are forced to adjust to the new way. Even so, they must be ready to participate in change.
What about basic education such as elementary and junior high school? Of course, it will be very exciting because online learning not only requires the ability to operationalize the network with the device but also equipped with online pedagogy. What makes a problem is online pedagogy itself has not been the standard material for learning.
Because of that, we find a ridiculous display of online learning. Some teachers record face to face learning with empty benches, recorded, distributed, sent the assignments, discussed it through WA, and much more of pedagogical cuteness like this. It becomes even more hectic if we pay attention to the high school and vocational level
At the elementary school, this method still helped because their parents, especially mothers, always accompany their children to study. Even though their parents are not familiar with the use of the device, they can still invite work together to guide their children.
However, not all mothers can be a good teacher for their children. The way they teach sometimes makes the children get stressed and even rebelled by making poetry, in hope corona would pass quickly so that they could meet the teacher.
Meanwhile, junior and high school teachers complain because certain topics are difficult to do online. The transformation of cognition can be done online, while the transformation of affection and conation still faces many obstacles. Indeed, this is a challenge between teachers and students who have different times and challenge.
What is even more ridiculous is that many teachers have the perception that online learning must always end by giving students as many assignments as possible. As a result, it is not only children, but their parents also get stress. On the one hand, it must save the family so that basic needs are met, the other hand save children from ignorance.
Higher Education
The same thing is also found in university, especially in the area of study that is more apply affection and conation. A performance art lecturer who is also good at online learning technology still gets complaints from students. There are things called “a sense of art” that they don’t get through online. Even though they have used their faces through the media, there is still no sense of art that they expect to develop.
It is different from a doctor of mathematics who is teaching disguised equations online. He did not find any obstacles and his students are also good at using online devices. This lecturer surfs with his students in cyberspace like surfers find high waves on the coast of Hawaii.
A professor of physics education, a lecturer at the Postgraduate Program in Unila, has another experience. He developed a seminar system through the inline network, so students do not have to be present on campus, just dealing with the gadget.
The interaction between the process of proposal seminar and the results of the research can be done very easily. Now this system adopted by many study programs in the Unila.
Four Problems
The three examples above are enough to see the dark and bright side of learning with an online system. If we examined it further, there are some issues besides convenience.
First, the online system facilitates learning because it is not bound by place and time. But the system requires preparation in advance to all devices and materials, including the curriculum. This preparation has never existed before, even online learning is only intended for teacher education, so both teachers (including lecturers) and the public experience technological shocks.
Secondly, online learning systems that require gadget tools will be very burdensome if a family has many children with different levels of education, while family income is limited. Subsidies through free internet quota will help them.
Moreover, students who cannot afford to buy gadgets because they only go to college through the “for those who are less fortunate in economics”. Some students have to live with the lecturer for free accommodation, even though they have to be paid to be “housekeeper”. They are ten percent in each study program and many lecturers/teachers become “saviors” them.
Third, the existing curriculum is prepared for conventional learning systems. With a sudden change, there are certainly many problems that appear during the implementation. The ICT teacher, who was originally in the school with the validity of the curriculum 13, is now removed.
Removing ICT in schools during COVID-19 is an inappropriate decision. Instead, ICT teachers must be burdened with transforming material from being presented conventionally to an online system. We don’t have to worry the children or students unable to attend school for some reason even in an emergency situation, they can still learn by access through online programs, as it now.
Fourth, technological mastery is not evenly distributed. We have to admit this honestly happens from elementary school to the tertiary level. Not all of them master the online application. It may be that they are technically master it, but it sounds cruel if they are “contract workers” and their salaries are not enough for their lives, but they have to buy internet quotas to save their career
The government’s policy to free the internet quota for study and teach at home is a price that has to be paid for this nation and Alhamdullillah, it at the time it is written, it can be realized.
A breakthrough needs to be made in terms of how to give a short course on presenting online learning programs for workers in need. For example, it might be possible to mobilize a study program or a computer major in a college or institute to open a free short course for those who need it.
The Abolition of National Exam
The coronavirus also impacts on the elimination of the National Exam (UN). This means there is a new job for teachers considering the graduation formula must pay attention to the beta-factor of Coronavirus. Therefore, alpha-factor must accommodate the level of graduation not only in aspects of cognition but must highlight the affection. This formulation certainly does not speak of justice, but rather of propriety.
The abolition of the National Exam also impacts our national education standards. Therefore, the graduation rate for this period cannot be made as a national standard, but rather a global emergency.
The other side of the existence of coronavirus makes us aware that humans are social creatures whose existence and survival also depend on the social relationships that they build with others. We can imagine at the time of writing this manuscript, there were 186 countries stricken with this plague. If there are 216 countries in the world, then only 30 countries remain safe. However, are these countries really safe from coronavirus? Wallahualam bissawab.
Hopefully, this Pagebluk will pass and our country can recover soon because the impact of this event is not only on the education sector but affects all aspects of Indonesian human life. The consequences can be fatal for the continuation of life. Let us all, no matter who you are, bow your head to ask God for this disaster to pass. []
